Deduct Your Monitor in Germany 2026: Full Write-Off for Self-Employed
Diana
Updated on:
A solid 27" 4K monitor easily costs €700, an Apple Studio Display runs €1,800, and a curved ultrawide setup with two screens can hit €2,000 or more. Good news for freelancers and self-employed professionals in Germany: monitors are explicitly on the BMF's "computer hardware" list — you can write them off 100% in the year of purchase. Here's how it works, what counts (mounts, docks, webcams included), and how to book the screen cleanly.
Can I deduct my monitor in Germany?
Yes — if you use the monitor for your self-employed work, it counts as a business expense (Betriebsausgabe). This applies to freelancers, sole traders, tradespeople, and incorporated entities like UG and GmbH. What matters isn't what's on the invoice, but how you actually use the device. Unlike with laptops, the private-use question rarely gets tricky for monitors: a screen typically sits at your desk and gets used for whatever the desk is for.
Employees can also deduct a monitor as work-related expenses (Werbungskosten) when their employer doesn't provide one. This article focuses on the self-employed case, where the rules are most generous and the leverage from VAT recovery and instant depreciation is biggest.
Book your monitor in 30 seconds, not 30 minutes
Norman scans your invoice from Dell, Apple, LG, or Amazon Business automatically from a phone photo, files it under the right category, and pushes the VAT into your next UStVA filing. No manual booking, no categorization, nothing forgotten.
The key rule since 2021: 100% instant write-off
Until the end of 2020, monitors had to be depreciated over three years — a €1,500 screen showed up in your tax return as just €500 per year. Since the BMF letter of 26 February 2021 (clarified on 22 February 2022), "computer hardware and software for data input and processing" is treated as having a one-year useful life. The official list explicitly names "external monitors."
In plain terms: whether your monitor costs €250 or €3,500, you can deduct the full purchase price in the year you bought it. The rule still applies unchanged in 2026. It also doesn't matter whether you buy one monitor or three for a multi-display setup.
The instant-write-off list also covers, alongside the screen itself:
Monitor mounts, monitor arms, VESA adapters
USB-C hubs, docking stations, Thunderbolt docks
Webcams, ring lights, external microphones for calls
Monitor cleaning kits and calibration tools
Cables (HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, Thunderbolt)
For a broader overview of typical work equipment, see our list of equipment deductibles. If you're also planning to deduct a laptop, the exact same rule applies.
How much can you deduct? (Full vs. mixed use)
The Finanzamt distinguishes between three scenarios — but in practice, monitors almost always land in the first one.
1. Almost exclusively business (over 90%)
If the monitor sits at your desk in an office or home workspace and you mainly work on it, you can deduct 100% of the purchase price as a business expense. Watching a film on the big 4K screen on the weekend counts as harmless private use. This is the default situation for most self-employed professionals.
2. Mixed use (10–90% business)
If the screen lives in your living room and gets used regularly for gaming or streaming in the evening, you have to estimate the business share and only deduct that. Example: 60% business use of an €800 monitor gives you a €480 deduction.
A realistic rule of thumb: 5 workdays × 8 hours = 40 hours of work per week; if you spend 3 evening hours on private use (15 hours), you're at roughly 73% business. Write the estimate down briefly in case the tax office asks later.
3. Mostly private (under 10% business)
If business use is below 10%, the monitor counts as private property — you can't deduct the purchase. With a screen at a dedicated workstation, this almost never applies.
VAT: when you get 19% back
If you're VAT-registered (i.e. not a Kleinunternehmer under §19 UStG), you also recover the VAT on top of the income-tax deduction. On a €952 gross purchase, you reclaim €152 in input VAT — your effective net cost drops to €800.
Conditions: you need a proper invoice with VAT shown separately, and the monitor must be used at least 10% for business. For office work, the 10% threshold is trivial to meet.
You claim the input VAT in the UStVA filing for the month you received the invoice — not at year-end. Buy the monitor in May, the VAT recovery already shows up in the May UStVA.
Worked example: a two-monitor home-office setup
In May 2026 you buy two Dell U2723QE 27" 4K monitors at €700 net each, plus two monitor arms at €100 net each, plus a Thunderbolt dock for €300 net. Total: €1,900 net / €2,261 gross. You use the setup 100% for business.
Business expense (EÜR): €1,900 in 2026 — fully, with no spreading over multiple years
Input VAT recovery: €361 in the May 2026 UStVA
Income tax saving (assuming 35% marginal rate): €1,900 × 35% = €665 less income tax
Effective cost: €2,261 − €361 − €665 = €1,235
Instead of €2,261, you effectively pay around €1,235 — the state covers nearly 46% of the cost. To estimate this for your specific tax bracket, use our tax calculator.
How to book the monitor correctly
You record the monitor as a business expense in your EÜR or balance sheet. Depending on your chart of accounts, the typical posting looks like:
SKR03: Account 4855 (instant depreciation hardware/software) against bank/cash — for net price up to €800, alternatively account 0480 (low-value asset, GWG)
SKR04: Account 6260 (instant depreciation computer hardware) against bank/cash — for net price up to €800, alternatively 0670 (GWG)
EÜR form: "Immediately deductible acquisition costs" or "Depreciation — pool/instant write-off"
In practice, the exact account number doesn't matter, as long as the booking lands in the instant-write-off bucket. The one thing to avoid: don't accidentally pick the old 3-year depreciation, or you'll push two-thirds of the tax saving into next year and the year after. Modern accounting software handles this automatically. If you want to see how the right tool compares for self-employed users, look at Norman vs. Lexoffice.
Monitors in the home office: the special cases
Most freelancers buy monitors for home-office use. Three things often go wrong:
Dedicated home office vs. desk in the corner
Whether you have a fully deductible home office or just a desk in the living room is irrelevant for the monitor — work equipment like screens, laptops, and printers stays fully deductible regardless. The home-office room rules only affect rent and utilities, not the equipment itself.
One monitor at home, another at a client
You can deduct both — as long as you actually use both. For freelancers commuting between a co-working space and home, this is a typical case. Keep in mind: the tax office will expect a plausible explanation if you claim more than two monitors per person.
Selling or gifting an old monitor
If you sell an old business monitor (e.g. on eBay), the proceeds count as business income — record it in your EÜR. If you give it to a family member, that's a withdrawal at current market value. A four-year-old screen is often worth €50–100, so the tax impact is minimal.
Common mistakes — and how to avoid them
Mistake 1: Buying privately at MediaMarkt without a business address
A receipt without your name doesn't qualify for input VAT recovery. Order the monitor as a business customer and ask for an invoice with your company name — Dell Business, Apple Business, Amazon Business, and MediaMarkt's business portal all do this without a price premium.
Mistake 2: Forgetting the mount
Mount, monitor arm, USB-C hub, cables — all instantly deductible as computer hardware. €100–300 in accessories often go unclaimed because they don't belong to the "big invoice." If you scan receipts via photo, none of them go missing.
Mistake 3: Booking in the wrong year
What counts is the year of acquisition — when you received the monitor, not when you paid. If you order in December 2026 but the screen arrives in early January 2027, the booking belongs in 2027.
Mistake 4: Wrong VAT treatment on EU purchases
Monitors from EU vendors (e.g. Dell B2B Ireland) come with a net invoice and a reverse-charge note. You then enter both German input VAT and acquisition VAT in the UStVA yourself — many freelancers miss this. See our reverse-charge guide for the mechanics.
Mistake 5: "Selling" a monitor to your own GmbH
If you want to bring a privately bought monitor into your UG or GmbH, the only clean route is a contribution at fair market value (Teilwert) — and only if the original invoice is in your personal name. Anyone trying to game this risks a hidden profit distribution (verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung).
Common questions
Can I deduct a used or refurbished monitor?
Yes — the purchase price counts regardless of whether the device is new or used. The one-year useful life applies in both cases. For refurbished purchases, you still need an invoice with VAT shown separately (or a margin-scheme note) for the VAT recovery to work.
Are two or three monitors too many?
No — multi-display setups are standard in many fields (development, trading, design, accounting). As long as you actually use the screens at the same time, you can deduct all of them. For four or more monitors per person, keep a brief justification in your records.
Do I have to enter monitors in the asset register?
Under the one-year instant write-off, there's no formal obligation to keep a fixed-asset register. Still, I recommend a quick log of every purchase over €250 net (date, amount, device) — it costs 30 seconds per receipt and helps enormously during an audit.
Is it worth buying at year-end?
If you've had a strong year and want to reduce the tax bill: yes. A €1,000 monitor in December cuts your profit by €1,000 and saves around €350 at a 35% marginal rate. If you were planning to upgrade anyway, December beats January.
What if the monitor doubles as a TV?
Buying a smart TV instead of a monitor is tax-unfriendly: the Finanzamt treats TVs as private by default, and proving predominantly business use is hard. Stick to a dedicated computer monitor — that way the case is unambiguous.
Bottom line
A monitor is one of the easiest business expenses for self-employed professionals in Germany in 2026. Since 2021, you can deduct the full purchase price in the year you buy it — no more spreading across three years. Mounts, docks, webcams, and cables come along with it. The three things that matter: a proper invoice in your name, an honest estimate of private use (rarely an issue with screens), and the right booking as instant depreciation. If you'd rather automate this than enter every invoice by hand, take a look at Norman vs. Accountable — receipt capture happens via photo in seconds, and the VAT lands automatically in your next UStVA filing.